Family, Ties that Bind
A few weeks had passed since Empress Saimei came to see the sunlight once again. Her general, Teronia Aggastas, partially responsible for her unsealing alongside a clueless and somewhat unexpected helper, suggested making base in Nadeshiko Village for its defensive advantages. Saimei and her men, revitalized by the return of their holy empress, marched towards the location of the small stronghold. Once there, through her ocular powers, Saimei sensed several wicked chakra sources; so wicked were they, that even Saimei, as a pacifist, deemed negotiations downright impossible. At this, she saw herself forced to summon one of her battalions; after clapping her hands, she fixated her sight on a forest clearing. Several black markings started appearing on the ground, eventually glowing in a teal color and finally exploding in a large wave of smoke. There, it stood rows of heavily armored soldiers, each wielding their preferred weapon, raging from swords, spears, advanced crossbows and longbows, among other types of medieval weaponry. The most defining feature of these soldiers however, was that all of them appeared as skeletal figures beneath their armors and chain mails. For all intents and purposes, this battalion was nothing short of a ghost army, each and every soldier bearing a dreadful visage that would surely strike horror in all but the equally vilest oppositions. To think someone considered so holy, could possess such contrasting means of enforcing her will. Saimei's revenant forces marched unwavering towards Nadeshiko Village, their seals spreading all over their ghastly bodies and releasing a teal aura all over the battalion, accentuating even further the already frightening vision of the marching, chanting undead paladins. These unliving soldiers, powered by Saimei's Cursed Seal of the Celestial Oath, quickly overrun the stronghold and made short work of the small task forced there stationed, freeing any prisoners at the request of their lady, which immediately joined Saimei themselves. With the Nadeshiko conquered, the Empire's forces quickly took to work in placing elaborate seals on the ground, readying themselves to summon Saimei's very own demesne from the western continent, the Imperial Citadel, capital of the once glorious Sunset Empire. Similar seals that had been placed around the Citadel over the long years suddenly lit up, sundering the very earth itself as the whole province rose to the skies and made its way over the ocean as a gigantic floating island, towards the eastern lands; the seals also acted as a natural barrier, preventing anyone from entering or attacking the Citadel. This wondrous work of chakra demanded much from the summoners the following weeks, with Saimei herself helping in this task, and the servants' undead nature also being an advantage. At long last, the Imperial Citadel stood proudly atop Nadeshiko Village, hopefully to last until the ushering of Paradise and beyond. The soldiers and subjects all roared and cheered in patriotic fervor as the Citadel first came into sight of the conquered shinobi village, and as it anchored itself on the stronghold's seals. With the help of the locally converted shinobi, an elevator was built in a matter of days, connecting Nadeshiko to the lower levels of the Citadel. Saimei, now once again seated in the throne of Bizan Palace, could finally resume her quest for Elysium. ' Across the Globe ' Chiyoko was floating high in the earth's atmosphere, monitoring the battles and devastation from the skies. Dawning her elegant, purple outfit, Chiyoko was using her kekkei mora to view the world's various energies. She could clearly see Black Zetsu's assault on Konoha was successful, adding to the list of countries conquered. She could see forces in Amegakure bravely fighting off the forces of the manifested will of her currently sealed grandmother, the mother of all Chakra, as well as her own mothers murderer, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Chiyoko forgave her twisted grandmother once she was sealed by her uncles, but deep down inside she felt that with Black Zetsu running around as well with her cousins incarnations being dead, she would have to face the unforgiving tyrant yet again. From the north, suddenly seeing a spike of unique energy on the other side of the world, Chiyoko instantly recognized it. "Sa-Saimei...?!" Chiyoko whispered in disbelief at first. "My cousin has finally been unsealed..." she thought. Having finished her observation of the world for now, Chiyoko created several sonic booms simultaneously as she beamed through the atmosphere, towards the location of her long lost family member. Travelling thousands of miles in the course of a few seconds, Chiyoko found the source of her cousins chakra. She could see a shield of sorts blocking her path. Seeing this, Chiyoko simply transduced the unique chakra barrier into sound energy as she passed through it, which was accompanied by an extremely high pitched sound normal humans wouldn't be able to register which amounted to its sheer density. Descending to the ground. hovering just above it, she recognized the place as a citadel of sorts. Looking around and observing the area, she could see its history replay itself before her very eyes before she began homing in on the chakra. Upon the Otsutsuki hybrid touching her foot against the sacred ground to seek the signal further, several undead, armed beings approached, causing her to activate her Tenseigan as she stood there. The grim-looking soldiers kept their spears and swords aimed at the newcomer, ready to attack should the woman make any hostile move. A few soldiers in front of Chiyoko moved to the sides, granting passage to General Teronia Aggastas, who marched towards the intruder with a not-so-amused expression, "...You better not move a finger, intruder." He said as he slowed down his pace, stopping just a couple feet away from Chiyoko, "...Who are you? How did you manage to infiltrate our holy citadel?" He said again, raising an eyebrow. Seeing all of the undead surrounding her, including one wearing foreign styled armor standing before her, Chiyoko simply smiled, surprised she would be met with such an abrupts battalion. Using her sacred Kekkei Mōra, she could see the past of the man and undead soldiers standing before her, and gained insight on who the man was. "Kindly stand aside, General Teronia Aggastas. I'm here to see my newly unsealed cousin Saimei Ōtsutsuki..." Chiyoko said before she made a motion to move forward. Teronia once again raised an eyebrow, at the same time slowly motioning for his soldiers to lower their weapons, "You know my name and rank? And you say you're related to M'Lady?" Teronia said while his unamused expression gradually changed to one of curiosity. "Yes, I do. I'm her cousin, and the infamous Kaguya Otsutsuki is our grandmother. I came to her to greet her and see her after nearly one thousand years of isolation within that seal she was inside." Chiyoko answered as looked at the man. Teronia furrowed his eyebrows this time, "Hmm... yes, I did notice something peculiar about your eyes; they're very similar to the eyes of M'Lady when she's angry..." After a moment of silence, Teronia finally spoke again, "Very well, follow me. I'll escort you to her Holy Empress Saimei. I advise you not to stray away from me for now." He said while slowly turning around, meanwhile still keeping his eyes on Chiyoko. Chiyoko acknowledged Teronia as he proceeded to follow the man through the citadel. After leading Chiyoko through the palace for a few minutes, always followed by a few soldiers behind, they finally reached the throne room where Saimei awaited, "My Empress! You have a visitor!" "Chiyoko! Tis' thou! What a pleasant surprise!" The young Ōtsutsuki rose from her throne, quickly descending the small stairs in front of the throne towards Chiyoko. Teronia quickly moved away from Saimei's path as she approached her cousin. Chiyoko smiled, excited to see her marvelous cousin after all these years as she gave the empress a hug. "It's so amazing to see you after such a long time! How have you been Saimei?" Saimei returned the embrace on her cousin, "Well, thou shouldst know. I can't rest until I can endue forth Elysium." Saimei gently pulls back and looks Chiyoko in the eyes, then up and down, "For what am I given the honor of thy presence, honorable cousin? O', thou hast changed! What betid?" "Yes I have Saimei, I've transcended and realized my full potential, and gained the appearance I should have had all along" Chiyoko said as she admired her cousins clothing and head piece. "Royalty seems to run in the family" Chiyoko thought as she looked on. "So Saimei, what brings you back into this chaotic world?" Chiyoko questioned. Saimei slowly turned around and started walking back towards her throne, "As I said, mine holy mission. This world hath nay salvation as 'tis nu." Saimei sits back on her throne in a delicate posture, "I require the chakra of uncle dearest, to achieve a similar stature as our grandmother dearest. Only then can I finally mend this world. Ye art welcome to aid me in this celestial endeavor, mine honorable cousin, if thou can be bothered. I only ask not to exert theeself beyond thy ability. I wish not to see thou hurt because of mine labors." "You are family, so I will aid you in your quest, cousin." Chiyoko said as she smiled. "Did Teronia brief you on the current status of the present world?" she asked. Saimei turned her head towards Teronia, who stood with his arms folded behind his back, facing neither Saimei nor Chiyoko directly, "I see thou hast already met mine dear general, and I assume thy reception wasn't as delicate as it shouldst hast been." Saimei returns her gaze to Chiyoko, "Fer that, thou hast mine sincerest apologies cousin, but pray, understand I wasn't expecting visitors. Marry, General Teronia hath already counselled me on the current state of affairs, explaining thy inappropriate reception. We hast already liberated the stronghold thou shouldst see below the Imperial Citadel, but much work remains to be done." Saimei slightly frowned at the end of her last sentence. "Agreed cousin..." Chiyoko said as her expression whet to a slight sinister, but stern look. "We must deal with the Zetsu accordingly, as well as anyone else that stands in your way..." Chiyoko said with annoyance that the conflicts the world has been in the past few years. "These creatures... these Zetsu... their essence is too full of hatred, and art spreading this hate through out these lands. They wilt be eradicat'd 'ere I'm able to bring forth Elysium. Grandmother dearest be blessed, but she shouldn't be allowed to see the sun's light ever again. Any opposition to mine holy mission shalt be dealt with accordingly, but needless suffering is to ever be avoided." Saimei spoke assertively from her throne, "And, what of our other cousins? Asura and Indra?" Saimei asked, a neutral tone in her voice. "Indra and Asura's reincarnation cycle has finally stopped and their chakra put to rest. However..." Chiyoko said as her expression dimmed a little. "Our dear uncle, Hagoromo, seems to have reincarnated into a particular shinobi, while Uncle Hamura seems to be aiding another shinobi as a spiritual guide." Chiyoko replied. "Another thing, it also seems that a variety of new tailed beasts have rose up since your sealing cousin. Some are merely derived from the Juubi, while others aren't." the woman said as she gazed at the sky before looking at her dear cousin. "I shall deal with grandmother... While you pursue your goal Saimei." "This place is amazing!" Eita shouted as he entered the room, completely oblivious to the important conversation he was interrupting. "It's so much nicer than those ruins I have been staying in." Joyfully striding over to Chiyoko, the gleaming mad man leaned in as if confiding a secret and spoke softly to the Otsutsuki. "Place didn't even have a bathroom. I had to dig a hole every single time, and the whole place was rock. Sometimes I didn't even bother." Skipping over to a nearby window, Eita took in the view, admiring the georgeous sunset ducking over the horizon. "This place is a little bear though. Ever think of adding a game room, or a swimming pool, maybe a hot spring? I mean, how can you be in a village full of beautiful woman and not have a hot spring to take them to? It's like having toilet paper without a good place to put it. We can't have that!" "Saimei...Who is this?" Chiyoko said as a comical tear drop came from the side of her head. "He is a recent acquaintance. Poor fellow lost his mind in attempting to unseal me, I couldn't endue mineself to leave him to his destiny, so I invited him to live amongst ourselves. Simply ignore him fer the time being, if thou wishes so." Saimei explained with her eyes closed, opening them once she returned to more serious business. "Thou wast saying dear Uncle reincarnated? 'Tis sound news! I expected much time had passed since my sealing, yea, and that mine cousins wast long departed. It doesn't surprise me they would continue their feud through reincarnation, as admirably strong they art. But with Uncle dearest hither as well, mine holy mission can progress faster! Pray, doeth tell whence I can find Uncle!" Saimei's eyes slightly light up with her last sentence. "Seika Uchiha is currently on his way to Sunagakure. We should intercept him..." Chiyoko said, looking at Saimei. "We can go whenever you are ready, Saimei". Saimei turned her head towards Teronia, "General Teronia, whence is this Sunagakure located?" "Sunagakure is a very large shinobi village located in the Land of Wind's deserts. I estimate travelling there will take around a week or so by foot, unless we have other means of transporting ourselves there." Teronia replied. "I'll transport us" Chiyok said as a purple aura glowed within her eyes. A black sphere suddenly materialized in front of them, solely manipulating the fabric of space itself, forming into a transparent hole, showing the edge of Sunagakure itself in all its glory about a few miles out. "I could have put us within the village itself, but, for more effectiveness, I put us several miles from the village, as i can sense Seika clearly from here." Chiyoko spoke as she smiled at her cousin, glad to see the amazingly beautiful woman back in the world. The group of three stepped through the opening, instantly appearing within the hot dessert of the village hidden in sand, the sand shaping itself around their footwear, warm to the touch as the portal disappeared instantly. Back at Saimei's Imperial Citedel, an exact replica of Chiyoko stood, before disappearing.